Xenial Puppy 7.5 will not boot. "No space left on device"

Booting, installing, newbie
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GreenRicer
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Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

Xenial Puppy 7.5 will not boot. "No space left on device"

#1 Post by GreenRicer »

So, during the boot up process off of a CD, or a flash drive, I get to the point of "puppypc23586 login: root (automatic login)" and then everything after that has the error "No space left on device" and leaves me at the command prompt. I ran the top command and it seems like I'm out of RAM.

This seems odd to me. I've run older versions of Puppy on a Pentium 3 computer with 256mb of RAM. That was at least 3 years ago, though. This laptop has a dual core intel CPU (I think it's a T2050?) and 512mb of RAM.

Have the requirements for Puppy gone up substantially? Is there something else I can do to make this work? Am I going to need to buy more memory?

By the way, I checked the checksum of the image and it is correct.

I'm trying to revive this old laptop mostly for kicks. It was working well with Windows XP when I got it, so I don't think there's anything wrong with the computer itself.

Thanks for any help.

GreenRicer
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

#2 Post by GreenRicer »

Here's an image that should help.

https://i.imgur.com/BrazbaB.jpg

GreenRicer
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

#3 Post by GreenRicer »

I got it to boot with the "pfix=nocopy" option :)

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bigpup
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#4 Post by bigpup »

I was going to suggest using nocopy, but still not sure why you needed to.

The developer of Xenialpup does recommend 1GB or more of RAM, but it should be able to boot normally with 512MB.

It will use about 300MB fully booted to the desktop.
However, the boot process may be using more than that to reach a completed desktop.

Xenialpup is really more about supporting the latest computers and their hardware requirements.

How much ram is being used if booting with the prefix=nocopy?
What does Htop show after getting to the desktop?
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

GreenRicer
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Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

#5 Post by GreenRicer »

I'm ok with not using Xenial if there's a better option. I mostly wanted it for the ability to install Ubuntu packages... unless I misinterpreted that. I realize most packages would be too intensive for this old computer.

I have it booted now, and am (slowly) performing an install. I'm planning to dual boot with Kali since the laptop just barely meets the requirements and I want to do some coffee shop trolling.

I didn't think I'd use all the memory based on past experiences with this distro, but that seems to be the issue. I might upgrade the memory if I run across some on the cheap. Might ask around the local computer shops if they're junking some older laptops.

Thanks for replying.

GreenRicer
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

#6 Post by GreenRicer »

I didn't mean to double post! Oops!

GreenRicer
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#7 Post by GreenRicer »

Htop shows about 90mb of RAM being used after booting. I guess the problem is on boot.

Current issue: How do I set the pfix=nocopy for booting off the hard drive? Puppy is installed, but having the same issue I initially had booting off of CD/USB.

GreenRicer
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#8 Post by GreenRicer »

I GOT IT TO BOOT OFF THE HARD DISK!
WOOT

I edited the menu.lst file and added pfix=nocopy to the end of a line that started with kernel... I think.

Now the mouse and keyboard don't work though! LOL

GreenRicer
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#9 Post by GreenRicer »

Ok, so I'm done for the night. Puppy has decided it doesn't want to load the driver for the touchpad it seems. Not sure why. I plugged in a USB mouse and it worked fine. Also, the wireless card doesn't work yet.

Fun, fun, fun. Always fun with linux :P

GreenRicer
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

#10 Post by GreenRicer »

Does anyone have a solution to the trackpad and wifi module? I'm not sure where to find drivers for the wifi module... or what module it is.

The weird thing about the trackpad is that it /was/ working fine until I rebooted the computer one time. Since then it's kaput and says there's no driver loaded for it.

GreenRicer
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#11 Post by GreenRicer »

I'm going to try to install the "iwlegacy" when I get the chance to connect to the internet wired.

Still need help on the trackpad.

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bigpup
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#12 Post by bigpup »

The laptop got a switch that turns touchpad on/off :idea:

Is the hard drive install a frugal install?
You got all the files from the iso on the hard drive.

What is the wifi hardware?
Make and model?

If it happens to be Atheros hardware.
Xenialpup 7.5 is missing some firmware for them.

Install this pet and see if that helps.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/pu ... nial32.pet
REBOOT after you install the pet package.

If Xenialpup is a frugal install or a live CD or USB.
Make sure you have made a save file/folder so the pet install is still there after the reboot.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

GreenRicer
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Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

#13 Post by GreenRicer »

I should have said the make/model before.
Make/Model: Toshiba Satellite A105 S4074

I was looking for a switch on the case for the trackpad. I haven't been able to find one. The F9 key has a little picture that looks like a trackpad to me but pressing Fn and F9 doesn't seem to turn it back on. The touchpad is enabled in the bios.

Wireless module: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection (rev 02)

Thanks for the help. I'll install that PET when I get connected to the internet. I do have a save file. It's a full install since I have a low amount of memory.

GreenRicer
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Joined: Thu 17 May 2018, 04:14

#14 Post by GreenRicer »

The trackpad also doesn't work if I boot off the CD. I'm really not sure what happened at all :/

GreenRicer
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#15 Post by GreenRicer »

Kind of thinking of giving up on this distro for this laptop. The screen doesn't come back up after I close/open the laptop either. Pretty big bummer for a laptop.

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bigpup
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#16 Post by bigpup »

I was looking for a switch on the case for the trackpad. I haven't been able to find one. The F9 key has a little picture that looks like a trackpad to me but pressing Fn and F9 doesn't seem to turn it back on. The touchpad is enabled in the bios.

The manual says there is a key with a picture of the touchpad on it.
FN+that key turns it off/on

When it is on you still need to set it up in menu>Setup>Mouse Keyboard Wizard

All Puppies do not work in all computers.

With the age of this computer.
Could try Lucid Puppy 5.2.8.7
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=90461
Precise 5.7.1
One of the Wary versions.
The screen doesn't come back up after I close/open the laptop either.
Try pressing a key after opening the lid.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

Sailor Enceladus
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Joined: Mon 22 Feb 2016, 19:43

#17 Post by Sailor Enceladus »

I would create a "linux-swap" partition with GParted that is 2GB or more, then turn it on, especially if you use a browser. I have 1GB ram and still find it useful. This is probably why XP works fine, it's using a swapfile/pagefile when it runs out of ram. Using an older puppy like tahrpup (which also uses Ubuntu repositories) or wary will probably be lighter too as bigpup said.

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